Mummified head and bloody old gourd used to identify Louis XVI DNA

A team of forensic pathologists has published
a study claiming that the blood-stained innards of a decorative
squash contain the DNA of fallen 18th century French monarch
Louis XVI.

The team came to the conclusion after comparing DNA extracted
from the crusty brown stains within the gourd to tissue samples
from the mummified head of what is believed to be Louis' ancestor
Henri IV. The results suggest that the remains owners' share a
genetic history passed down the paternal line.

Having failed to implement any real reforms to his country's
social order or tackle its economic crisis, Louis XVI was given the
axe in 1793 -- quite literally -- when he and wife Marie Antoinette
were beheaded by revolutionaries. In the case of the king, it was
written that on January 21, the day of his execution, spectators
rushed forward to the site to douse their handkerchiefs in his
blood -- evidence that there was still some belief in the godlike
figure's supposedly saintly blood (or, alternatively, that a savvy
community of relic sellers thrived in 18th century France).

In 2010 it was proposed that one such handkerchief had in fact been stored
within a decorative gourd. Engraved with flame, the dried-out gourd
was typically used to carry gunpowder. However, this particular
one, in possession of an Italian family for the past century, is
adorned with portraits of prominent French revolutionaries and
royalists, including the king himself, his wife, son and finance
minister. The well-persevered article is also engraved with the
words "Maximilien Bourdaloue on January 21st, dipped his
handkerchief in the blood of the king after his
beheading".

A "dark and dried substance" found within this gourd was scraped
off and biochemical analysis confirmed it was indeed blood. DNA
studies then determined the sex when the Y-chromosome was
identified, and the presence of the mutated HERC2 gene suggested
the owner had blue eyes (paintings of Louis often recorded what is
referred to as his identifying "bulging blue eyes"). Furthermore,
the Y-chromosone was identified as being from the haplogroup G2a, a
haplogroup so rare among modern Eurasians it was concluded the
sample must be from a royal line.

To assuage naysayers, lead author on the 2010 study Carles
Lalueza-Fox of Barcelona's Institut de Biologia Evolutiva set out
with a team of fellow paleogeneticists and forensic pathologists to
compare the findings with the DNA of a potential royal
relative.

Enter Henri IV, or rather, his mummified head, salvaged from the
ransacked royal tombs during the revolution. The assassinated king
is Louis' ancestor, and an obvious choice for comparison since his
identity had already been authenticated via radiocarbon
dating, 3D scanning and X-rays that revealed physical similarities
to those depicted in portraits. Lalueza-Fox and his team went
further, however, and succeeded in extracting DNA from the pickled
head where those before them had failed.

"The reason [for this] lies probably in the fact that the sample
was taken by a fiberscopy from inside the trachea, instead of
cutting an external piece from the neck, like in the original 2010
attempt," Lalueza-Fox told Wired.co.uk. "I spoke to the previous
researchers and I understand the problem was more the contamination
of the sample than the preservation of the DNA."